P437 Neurobiology of Addictions

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Professor: Joseph Farley

Credits: 3

P437 provides an in-depth look at the cellular-, molecular-, and systems-neuroscience bases of addiction. Addiction neurobiology has made major advances within the past three decades. We now know the primary sites of action of virtually all drugs of abuse and have learned much about the molecular adaptations to chronic drug exposure/use.

While there is general agreement about what areas of the brain are involved in addiction, there is less consensus about how best to treat the problems in these areas. Nevertheless, effective vaccines against various addictive chemicals, and “anti-addiction pills”, may not be too far in the future. Indeed, some medications that are very effective in treating addictions already exist (e.g., methadone and buprenorphine for heroin addiction, nicotine-replacement therapies and nAChR partial agonists (varenicline) for smoking cessation). P437 provides an intensive overview of the fundamentals, state-of-the-art advances, new frontiers, and major gaps in our understanding of the neurobiology of addiction.